piston_cupfandomcom-20200222-history
The King
It's ok (enter name here). - The King's main phrase when someone is worried or sad. Strip "The King" Weathers is a Piston Cup racer from 1965 to 2005. He is a 1970 Plymouth Superbird NASCAR 426 Hemi. In 2006, he would get replaced by Cal Weathers, the 2006-2016 Dinoco racer. He was rookie in 1970 and originally served as Lee Weathers' backup from 1958 to 1964. His Team Members He has a crew chief named Roger Wheeler and some pitties, in which one is named Luke Pettlework. History The King started his career as a backup racer for Lee Weathers in 1958 but hardly raced due to Lee being a strong racer who when crashes rarely misses a race. He made his first start ever in the 1963 Brickyard 400 when Lee Weathers could not attend due to missing his flight. It was a disappointing first race for Strip has he had collided into Gordon Tireson on lap 2 and was out. He would start part time in 1965 but not doing well generally and many racers even started insulting him(minus Kraig who is King's friend) badly saying Lee was much better then him. The King did not let the mean comments get to him. Finally in 1967 he would place 3rd in the Leak Less 400 and would win his first race two years later in the 1969 Texas 350. He still had not got respect from his team or the other racers but his two best friends Luke Pettlework and Roger Wheeler as well as his wife Lynda were there for him. He won three races in 1970. 1971 however, would be the ultimate year for Strip. He would win the 1971 Nightdona 500 where he had a huge overtake and won. But that was not enough to him for some reason. He won several races. Then came another fantastic performance at the 1971 Brickyard 400 with a last lap overtake on Bobby Carsac. Another win was at the 1971 Palm Mile 300 where he lead all 200 laps from start to finish. In Calladega, widely considered to be the hardest Piston Cup track of all time not just did he dodge a huge wreck to win but he smashed the lap record ten times(the previous lap record was held by Mario Andretti in the 1966 Calladega 500) and held the fastest lap for 40 years before being broken by his own nephew Cal in 2011. Strip would win 22 races in an unbelievable record breaking 1971 season. It was after that season when the racers and fans truly realized his power. He placed in the top 15 in 35 of 36 races of the 1971 season a record which will never be broken again. Thomas Tireson won 4 races in 1971 but was more then 200 points behind Strip. Strip Weathers was now "The King" 1972 was also a good year as he won the 1972 Clutch Aid/Cozsen 400 and 1972 Easy Idle 400 at Nightdona among some other races. 1973 would be good until the historic Tow Cap 400 in which The King had a horrifying crash and missed seven races. He would return but 1973 did not turn out to be to good. He won another Piston Cup in 1975 and another one five years later in 1980. In the 1983 Texas 350 The King crashed and flipped four times but only missed two races. The King continued to do well in the 1980's. Winning back to back cups in 1987 and 1988. The early 1990's were not very interesting for The King. He did well once again in the late 1990's and early 2000's winning Piston Cups in 1998 and his final one 2001. The King started to slow down not placing many top 10's after 2001. He sadly had a crash on his final race in the 2005 LA tiebreaker but was pushed by Lightning McQueen. Throughout his career, he had 100 wins (unlike Richard Petty, his real life counterpart, who has 200). The King is considered as the greatest Piston Cup racer ever by almost every Piston Cup fan but especially Matthew "True Blue" McCrew. The King inspired many racers including Lightning McQueen, Cal Weathers (due to Cal being his nephew), Winford Bradford Rutherford, Reb Meeker and Bobby Swift. Gallery The Flying King.png|Flying in the 1971 Calladega 500. MTV and VH1 panicing (1992 Michigan 400).png|With MTV and VH1 in the 1992 Michigan 400. Winford Crying (So funny).png|With the crying Winford Bradford Rutherford in the 2003 Leak Less 400. Klint crying (1984).png|With Kraig, Ernie and Floyd trying to keep Klint from not crying in the 1984 Brickyard 400. James Cleanair Flipping (1980 Spare Mint 400).png|Avoiding William Highbanks in the 1980 Spare Mint 400. Dirk King Luke Roger Bill.png|In the white house his team and Dirkson. 1977 Carolina's 350 - The King Makes It!.png|Crossing the finish line in the 1977 Carolina's 350 Shocked Brush Curber.png|Alongside Lapis, Crusty and Kraig thinking that Brush stole the cup. Trivia * He has the most wins of Piston Cup along with Lightning McQueen (Who has 87) * Cal Weathers calls him uncle Strip. * Lightning McQueen's children love him and like to see him often. They also call Strip uncle. * He is Dinoco's longest racer with a 40 year career from 1965-2005 * Just like Doc Hudson and Lightning McQueen he became a crew chief after he retired * Doc Hudson is his inspiration. Smokey is Roger Wheeler's. * The race he did not place in top 15 in 1971 is the 1971 Carolina's 350, he got an engine failure on lap 142. Category:Friends of Doc Hudson Category:Retired Piston Cup Racers Category:Nightdona 500 Winners Category:Friends of Lightning Mcqueen Category:2005 Piston Cup Racers Category:Racers Category:Friends of Cal Weathers Category:Enemies of Chick Hicks Category:Retired Category:2005 Piston Cup Season Racers Category:DNF Category:Dinoco